Israel, much like the fortress of Tel-Chai that Jospeh Trumpeldor fought to defend against Arab conquerors in 1920, finds itself beseiged by enemies both within and without. Terrorists, would-be friends inside and outside Israel, and even bad government officials. Here are the discussions of one proud Zionist resident on the state of the nation and abroad.

Thursday, June 05, 2014

Austria has a law protecting Islam

The enticement, however, that might really make Austria attractive to the Muslim Brotherhood, is its legislation. In 1912, Emperor Franz Joseph, as a result of the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as an attempt to integrate Bosnian soldiers in Imperial army, issued the so-called Islamgesetz [Law of Islam].

The law provides, among other matters, that:

"The external legal conditions of the adherents of Islam shall be regulated on the basis of an autonomous administration, due consideration being given to state supervision....""The doctrines of Islam, its institutions and customs shall enjoy the same protection... unless they are in contradiction to state law.""A religious community having been established, the creation of charity foundations for religious purposes of Islam shall be permitted."

The law, still in force today, was later extended to the entire Muslim community, both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims; it is considered by many representatives of Islam a model to be imitated. [...]

What is clear is that Austria's Law of Islam of 1912 represents protection for Islamic organizations that no other European country has to offer. The opening of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue [KAICIID] in Vienna in November of 2012, under the auspices of Saudi Arabia, Austria and Spain, was not a random act.

More revealing is what happened to Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, convicted of "hav[ing] denigrated the teachings of a legally recognized religion," Islam, in Austria in 2011. She was declared guilty of having delivered a lecture during which she allegedly insulted Islam by citing Islamic authors and sources.

Currently, her appeal has been submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in the hope of reversing Austria's judgment.

I hope she can succeed this time. But now we can understand more clearly why she was persecuted. And while the law's primary function is sanctioning Muslim organizations, you can be sure it provides all the protection needed for individual Muslims too, backed by said organizations. This is surely no surprise for a country where nazism had its zygote.

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About me

I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.